All my life I wanted to be "perfect." I strived for thinness for twenty years by smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day and drinking pots of coffee, eating was less frequent. I ate about once every 4 days. I was a poor role model for my two daughters (now 14 and 18 years old).

Photo courtesy of Rich Barkan - Metrotri.com

One day, for NO reason, I stopped smoking and started playing soccer! (No, I never played as a kid). Soccer led to running, which led to marathons, which led to triathlons. Little ones at first, which grew to Olympic distances, to ½ Ironman distances to finally in July of 2005 my 1st Ironman distance! Everything is relative and all of this transformation took place over a period of 4 years.

My biggest obstacle was always eating. How do I eat? What do I eat? I never really got it right until I researched Advantig and started seeing a Nutritionist. The Nutritionist told me that I gained 15 pounds in 6 months of intense training because I was not eating enough! . . . I though she was CRAZY! She gave me a list of what to eat in one day I looked at it and . . . HELLO. . . that's more than I use to eat in one month. Again stuck on size, I say what the heck! Any idea where this is going?

Meanwhile I started to research my workout aides and I stumbled upon Advantig thanks to a review on Active.com. I read, I researched, researched some more, and finally ordered. Guess what? It worked! It is what a poor eater like me needed to boost my nutritional needs. Workouts are not so bad anymore; I am able to get though them feeling great, couple that with the attempt of eating several times though out the day and suddenly my performance improves, I feel better, look better, I lose weight and body fat.

While I was training for my Ironman, my 18 year old asked me what I was doing. I gave her my workout schedule for that weekend; I don't remember what it was but I remember her looking at me saying, "You’re crazy, you don't have to answer me, but why are you doing this?"

My response was easy, "All my life I have settled. This time no one knows, and no one will care, except me." As women, we settle; we work with what we've got....guess what, we don't have to! Dare to be accountable to yourself! It doesn't have to be an Ironman, it starts with the first step, and the best part is it's your step, live your life, it only happens once!

I completed my 1st Ironman on July 24th, 2005! Advantig products were with me on every section on the event; supplements for the swim, ProSport and supplements for the biking, and again the same for the run. I finished feeling great, and can't wait to do it again next year!